Best way into this whole can of worms is to look at some debatable “mental illnesses“. Homosexuality, pedophilia. Are these, or are these not, mental illnesses?

And once you ask that question, you’re led on to further questions, one of which is trifling, but troubling. Are “mental illnesses” misnamed in the first place? A bodily illness is usually (but not always) something like a virus getting into your body and replicating. You can classify the illness by its cause, it has defined phases, and you can relate it to biology — you can see it under a microscope. Many (but not all) mental illnesses, in contrast — you don’t classify by cause, but by symptoms; there aren’t defined phases; and you can’t relate purely to biology, but have to also talk about behaviour, society, environment and even things like feelings and thoughts.

So, there’s reason to think that “mental illness” or ” mental disease” are often misleading terms. “Mental condition” might be improvement, but, ironically, doesn’t cut it when the condition is in fact more process-like, like a bodily disease.

Anyway, that’s by the by. Yes, there might be problems with language, but most people would probably agree that there is something here that we need to talk about — that, for practical purposes, we can’t get by without a theory of mind and a theory of broken minds. So, onto the next question — what’s in and what’s out? What counts as a mental illness, and what doesn’t?

The instinctive response is to appeal to what’s normal. If it’s not normal, then it’s a disease. But then: (a) some abnormal behaviours/conditions are regarded as good, not bad — like virtuoso ability at piano; (b) some abnormal behaviours/conditions are regarded as neither good nor bad, like a love for fixing old grandfather clocks.

So, if you can’t appeal to normality to define disease, maybe you can appeal to good functioning. If you’re not functioning properly, there’s something wrong with you, and if it ain’t bodily, then it’s mental.

But how to define good functioning?

If you presume to define it according to some standard like “human nature”, then there’s plenty of people who will quibble with you. Any time you make a claim about what’s natural and what isn’t, people are going to argue with you. Human beings are multifaceted, evolving, adaptable.

But if, on the other hand, you define good functioning in terms of how the individual wants to function, then it seems disagreeably subjective — like anything could be “mental illness”. If the individual wants to kill people, but has feelings of empathy that inhibit this, are these feelings an “illness”? (The example is not that unrealistic: German soldiers were advised in WWII to ignore their emotions and do what they intellectually knew was right.)

So what counts and what doesn’t count as mental illness? Seems irreducibly subjective at the end of the day; it’s not pure science, it’s values and agreement.

If you are a man and you are having erectile issues, will you be comfortable talking about it with your friends? Your answer would probably be a no because this is the same concern most men have. Erectile dysfunction is not only a problem with seniors. There are younger men who suffers this condition and they prefer to just keep silent about it and research for solution. This is actually risky and can complicate into something more crucial. Approaching a health professional will definitely shed some light to your concern. There are health supplements which can be prescribed by doctors.

This concern is actually experienced by a lot of men from all over the world and based on studies, there are a lot of factors which may have caused it. One is stressed. If there are so many things in your mind, possibility is, you are not focused on the deed which can really affect your performance. Then there is depression, alcoholism and even the underlying problem in diabetes. These dietary supplements will aid in balancing your sex hormones to bring back that old capability once again. If you check online, herbal dietary supplements are promoted online and many claim that it is indeed effective.

Some come from ginko biloba which is believed to increase blood circulation . There are supplements which contains gotu kola which works the same as the first mentioned and then there is muira puama, known to increase libido and it is said to balance hormone levels. As long as these drugs are approved by the government, you can trust that these are tested but it is still better if you go to a reliable doctor since they know what it may do to you. It is imperative that you prioritize your health and thi includes taking the right prescribed medication.

Men are not really comfortable talking about health problems. If you try to open up a topic in a group of male friends, you can be sure that they will try to steer away from this and redirect it to something else. If men are only as open as women, it will be easier to spread awareness and more of them can get help at the right time. Just like women, men also has health concerns which ranges from normal issues to severe and dangerous. The most common two is prostate issues and erectile dysfunction. The first one is more risky as it can kill any human. Erectile dysfunction or ED is a different story.

There are a lot of prescription given to men who needs help on this area but the number of men running to a doctor for help is only minimal as this concern is considered as an embarrassing situation. There are a good number of men who do not feel comfortable talking about their erectile problems thus they resort to buying products that are promoted online which are not even approved by law. The biggest concern about these medication is that there are no proven tests that shows positive result. Also, the person taking the medication will not be examined by a doctor to find out if there are allergies or negative reactions.

Without exact knowledge about the manufacturers, you cannot run after anybody should something wrong happen. As always, prescribed medication is always preferable if you do not want anything to complicate. Sometimes, ED is caused by stress or other underlying cause. With the help of an expert, you can find ways to work around it and avoid taking anything. There are health supplements which can greatly help any condition and this can also be acquired through a doctor.